Masterpiece
by vexus01
Summary: She deserves much better...Pairings: dl loc
1. Masterpiece

Based on Mario Vazquez "Gallery"

God broke the mold when he made this one I know  
She's breath-taking but so much more  
She walks in the room, your lungs close  
Making you never want to breathe again  
Her boyfriend has got so much dough  
So much ice his neck and wrists froze  
Is he faithful to her, hell no  
But she chose to be with him, shorty

Danny and Lindsay had been working a double-shift when she her cell phone started to ring loudly, with the sounds of Keith Urban as the ring tone.

"Hold on Danny, I got to take this call." Lindsay quickly said to Danny. He assumed it was Mac who routinely called in to check on the progress of their latest case. But when she took the call in the other room, he knew. Knew it was Ty Addison, the new cornerback for the New York Giants.

He didn't trust that guy, never did. Danny had strong feelings for Lindsay but that was not the main reason for his disliking the guy. Something about him didn't set well with Danny.

He was brought back to reality when Lindsay quickly entered the lab. Running up to him, she quickly gathered her things. Danny couldn't help but notice that she was out of breath.

"Are you alright, Montana?"

She ran her hands through her wavy brown hair. "Yeah, hey listen do you think you handle the rest of this?"

"Yeah, I got it, go," Danny called out to her, "Is there anything I can do, just call, kay?"

She was already out the door by the time that he responded. He looked down at his hands and just sighed.

She deserves better.

to be continued...


	2. Gallery

Tell me is the money worth your soul  
Tell me what's the reason that you hold on  
When you know that dude  
Has a whole wall of them just like you  
And girl you're just way too fine  
Gotta be treated as one of a kind girl  
Use your mind, don't be just another dime  
Because

Lindsay was hurrying around her apartment, scurrying to get ready. She couldn't believe she was actually going out with Ty Addison. When she met him at Carly Snyder's Memorial Day BBQ, she would have never believed that he would take an interest in her. He was a professional football player; he could have any girl he wanted, but he chose her.

And like a high-schooler, she was anticipating his call. She never waited by the phone, but she did occasionally check her answering machine for his message. When he did call, she was on cloud 9. Well that was 3 months ago and she has never been happier.

She was just finishing putting on her make-up when the doorbell rang. Straightening her black-spaghetti strap dress, she walked over to the front door. Opening the door, she reached out into the hallway and grabbed Ty inside.

'Hey gorgeous!' Ty said after recovering from Lindsay's kiss.

"Hey handsome!" Lindsay said, holding on to his enormous biceps.

And as they were heading out the door, Lindsay couldn't believe how lucky she was to meet such a generous and wonderful man.

After finishing up at the lab, Danny was too frustrated to go home. Deciding that he needed a beer, he headed over to Flannigan's for a drink or two.

He took a seat at his favorite table and the waitress came over and took his drink order. He settled on a draft beer and waited for the blues band to start up again.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the gorgeous redhead that was heading his way.

"Penny for your thoughts, baby."

Danny looked up and noticed this beautiful woman standing at his side. She started to rub his arm.

He moved his arm away from her and grabbed the beer that the waitress had placed in front of him.

"You look lonely, want to come by my place and have a little fun?"

"No, I'm not interested, thanks."

She pouted, and ran her manicured hands down his face. "It's your loss, baby".

He watched her walk away and he had no plans for fun tonight. All he could think about was Lindsay and he had to find out a way to have her in his heart.

to be continued...


	3. On Display

I

can't take

Seeing you with him

'Cuz I know exactly what you'll be,

In his gallery

It's just not fair

And it's tearing me apart

You're just another priceless work of art

In his gallery

It had been a long day at work for Danny. It was going pretty good until Lindsay started to talk to the lab techs about her date with Ty. All he heard was How WONDERFUL he was, and how CARING he was. If Danny hadn't fallen for Lindsay, he would have been congratulating Ty for getting Lindsay.

Danny was hard at work pulling trace off a pair of work pants when she came into the lab. Sighing, she sat down and plopped her head down on the counter.

"Tough Day?" Danny said, giving her that trademark Messer smirk. The tone on his voice bordered on condescending.

"I'm tired. Ty kept me up late last night; I'm exhausted."

Please Lindsay, Danny thought to himself. Please stop talking about him. You just don't know how much this is killing me inside.

"So……….Montana, let's go and grab some lunch. I'm still hungering for some slices."

She turned to him and shook her head. "I can't Danny, Ty has invited me to a fundraiser event tonight and I have to do some errands at lunch."

"Okay," Danny said, "You have to do what you have to do."

"I need to go and take this sample to Adam for analysis. I'll be back okay?" Before she could get away, he grabbed her hand.

"Lindsay, I'm not your boyfriend, but as a friend, I just want to say please let him treat you right."

"He is Danny."

He released her hand and let her get away. God, he thought, she's killing me.

Nemos was busy for lunchtime and even though she didn't take him on the offer of lunch, Danny went anyway. After saying hello to Antonia, he sat down at his favorite. The booth gave a great view of the busy bustling street and to anybody who came through the front door.

He was devouring his second slice of pepperoni when the door was opened. He just happened to look up and see who came in. Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, he could have sworn he just saw Ty Addison come in. What really drew his attention was that Ty was not alone. Draped on this arm was a leggy blonde that definitely was not Lindsay.

The picture just became distorted.

To be continued….


	4. Crack in the Pedastal

You're a masterpiece  
I know that he  
Can't appreciate your beauty  
Don't let him cheapen you  
He don't see you like I do  
Beautiful not just for show  
Time that someone let you know

Danny sat still careful not to let Ty see him just yet. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck, and it took every bit of control to not go over there and pummel the man to a bloody pulp. She deserved much better; she was the peace that made his life worth living.

Antonia rushed over to Ty and the blonde and Ty gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Hey sweetheart! How's that football going for you?"

Ty grinned back at Antonia, making her blush. "It's going great; I'm having the best year of my like. Thank you for asking."

"Honey, it's nothing, really," Antonia said, smiling, "I'm just glad to see you happy."

The blonde started rubbing his arm to get his attention. "Baby," her voice, dripping with a hint of a New York accent. "I need to go and powder my nose, I'll be right back."

She leaned into him and slowly nibbled his earlobe. Danny couldn't help but notice this interaction and wondered how Ty could do this to Lindsay.

As soon as the blonde was out of his sight, some of his college buddies that were next to the booth near Danny motioned for Ty to come over to them.

Danny craned his neck so he could hear the conversation.

"Hey,Ty!" his buddies, exclaimed, "Who's the blonde?"

"That's Farrah. I met her at my manager's birthday party. She's hot and some great eye candy."

"I thought you were dating that cop. Isn't her name Lindsay something or another?"

"She thinks we're dating. I'm leading her on. I'm too much into this eye candy, so it's more of a game to lead Lindsay on."

Ty and his buddies erupted into hoards of laughter.

Danny couldn't believe what he had just heard. His fists were clenched so hard that they were turning white. The veins were sticking out in his neck and his arms were tense.

As much as he wanted to just beat the hell out of the guy for bad-mouthing Lindsay, he knew he had to walk away. But you know what?

Sometimes you have to stir up the hornet's nest a bit.

Ty had gotten up to go back to his table when Danny "accidentally" bumped into him, causing him to stumble backwards.

Ty sprung up like a coil and glared at Danny in the eye. "Buddy, what the hell is your problem?"

Danny stared this man down, his normal teal eyes turning the color of midnight blue.

"You should watch your step, you might fall."

Danny turned and walked away, but not before Ty saw the NYPD badge and knew that he had to have a "little" talk to Lindsay about what her work priorities are.


	5. Into the Kiln

Lindsay had taken a nice hot bath and had intended to have a relaxing night without any interruptions. Putting her favorite CD in the radio, she started to hum her favorite line. Humming and walking around the apartment, she was so focused she almost missed the phone that was ringing.

Grabbing the phone on the last ring, she answered out of breath.

"Hello?"

"Hey beautiful!"

Lindsay smiled, 'Hey Ty! How are you?"

"I'm good."Ty said. Then he became real quiet.

"Ty are you alright?"

"Yeah, listen Linds, I need to talk to you."

A wave of concern passed over Lindsay. Was he hurt? Why was he worried?

"Where do you want to meet, Ty."

"Can you meet me around the corner at the Starbucks in 15 minutes?"

Ty was waiting for Lindsay when she got there. He had ordered her favorite, a Tall White Chocolate Mocha.

"Hey" Lindsay said, forcing a small smile as Ty held her into a hug.

"Sit down sweetheart."

Lindsay took a seat at the same time as Ty. He smiled at her and then all of a sudden, the smiled disappeared.

"Lindsay, you seem to be working a lot of hours lately?"

"Well, Ty it's not a 9 to 5 job. I have to be on call all the time and if Mac wants us to go to a scene, I have to go."

"That's not my concern, Lindsay. My concern is WHO you work with. And you know who that is".

"Danny?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Ty said, his voice changing tones.

"Danny is a friend, Ty. He's just a friend."

"I've seen the way that he looks at you. I've seen you guys walking down the street to a crime scene and the way that he gets so close to you."

Lindsay started to get angry. She had never seen him this way before.

"Ty, I'm not going to change anything, especially who I work with."

Hate washed over the face of Ty. Lindsay started to grab her white mocha when he grabbed her hand. Because of this, the hot coffee splashed over her hands, causing a burning sensation.

"Ty!"

"I'm sorry about that. But mark my word, YOU will stop working with Danny, or there will be Hell to pay."

Ty let go of her hand and she thought he was going to pull her into a embrace but she was not ready for his hand that grabbed her hair.

"OWWWhh!"

This action had gotten the attention of passerby's but they walked away.

"Remember what I said, REMEMBER."

He grabbed his keys, got into his car and drove away, leaving Lindsay to the mercy of her feelings.


	6. Tarnished

After the confrontation with Ty this evening, Lindsay ran home and went straight to bed. The images of Ty smacking her ran in her mind and the use of his threats haunted her. She knew that he meant business and the fact was everything that Ty wanted in life, he got. She knew that she had to keep quiet about this and that nobody can find out what happened to her.

Danny would sense immediately that something would be wrong with her. They have worked together for so long, they knew each other well. He would pick up that she would be upset and she knew that she would have to avoid him at all cost tomorrow.

A lone tear streamed down her cheek and when she thought about it more, she cried some more. The tears that she wept brought on her sleep that night.

* * *

Danny was early this morning. He usually got at work at 8:00 am but he couldn't sleep. Thoughts of Lindsay kept him tossing and turning the night before. He knew that Ty was cheating on her and he had been trying to find away to break the news to her. He didn't want to ruin the friendship that they had but he also knew that she didn't deserve to be mistreated by some jerk. That wasn't right.

9:00 came and went and Lindsay wasn't there yet. This was beginning to bother him. He was getting very worried about her even thought she was only an hour late. For all he knew, she could have been caught up in traffic on the way there; after all, this was New York.

He reached in his pocked and retrieved his cell phone. Dialing her number, he anticipated her picking up the line. But all he got was her voice mail.

He was going to try her number again when she came in the break room. She seemed very flustered and frazzled. He knew something was up. For one ,she was always on time to work. Matter of fact, she always beat him to work. Second of all, she is always calm when she comes in and this morning was very different.

"Hey" Lindsay said, breathlessly.

Danny's face was sketched in worry. He kept looking over at her for visible bumps and scrapes. However, he noticed that she had her hair up and it looked like it was thin in certain areas. Like someone had ripped hair out. He also noticed that when she took off her winter gloves, the looked burned. They were covered with blisters.

Even though he knew the question, he asked anyway.

"What's wrong?"

"Danny, nothing is wrong. Can you please just drop the subject please?"

"Lindsay, I care a lot about you. Please open up to me here. Did he hurt you? Did he?"

"Danny, I can't talk about it okay. Let's get to work alright?"

She ran out of the room and went down the hall to the locker room.

Please, Lindsay, just open up to me.

Please?


	7. Meltdown

part 7...

After Lindsay ran out of the room, she went out into the open park near the crime lab. This was her place of refuge, a place to clear her mind of important things.

She wanted to open up to Danny about what happened but she could bring herself to it. He wouldn't understand, he just wouldn't. Ty loved her, she know he did. It was just a tiff and nothing more. She would give him a chance to calm down and then she would give him a call. 

Screw it, she thought as she reached for her cell phone. Dialing Ty's number, she waited patiently as he answered the call on the third ring.

"Hey."

"Ty, I'm sorry that I acted that way. I promise that I won't do it again."

Ty sighed. Cradling the phone in the crook of his neck, he walked out of the locker room.

"Lindsay. I understand that you are sorry and I believe that you are sorry. But you do understand that you can have no more contact with Danny Messer; do you hear what I am saying to you?"

"Yes, I understand Ty. I'll do that."

Ty smiled. He had to keep the country bumpkin in shape. She had to be trained to be obedient to him and to any man. If she was going to be with him, she had to understand who's really in charge.

"Gotta go, Lindsay. Bye." Ty said as he quickly hung up.

She sighed as she gathered her knees up and placed her head on her elbows. What have I done wrong?

From a distance, a figure watched Lindsay in the park. He cringed at what she was saying on the phone and a feeling of kicking someone's ass took residence and got rid of any responsible actions that were left in his heart.

Danny clenched his hands so tight that they were turning white. That Son of a Bitch, he thought as he walked away.

This man was going to pay, and soon.

to be continued...


	8. Fear

After returning from the park, Lindsay was too frazzled to even consider working another hour. But she held out for another hour, knowing that she would recede to the comforts of her two-bedroom apartment.

Catching the subway train, she hung on to the handle bars in the train car and thought how she ended up in this mess. She liked Ty, but she didn't love him. She couldn't love a man who hit her, but she was afraid for her safety. Damn, she thought, she was a detective; she should have more sense than to be with a man who didn't respect her.

She had feelings for Danny, feelings that were growing daily. Lindsay was bound and determined to not let Danny know what was happening to her. He would go ballistic if he knew that Ty had put his hand on her. He told her one time that if he knew that a woman was being knocked around, he would be looking at some time in Rikers.

The train lurched to a stop and Lindsay stepped out onto the platform. Her apartment was only 2 blocks away and in no time, she reached her apartment. Trembling, she put the key in the lock and placed her keys on the table.

She went into the kitchen and reached for the tequila that was on the top shelf. She poured her a glass and wished away the trauma of the day.

Dropping her glass off into the sink, she went to her couch and curled up into a ball. She had dozed off when she heard a pounding at the door.

Please, don't let it be Ty, Lindsay thought. I can't do this tonight, I just can't. 

Please go away, she thought, please?

Pound! pound! pound! went the door again. She slowly got off the couch and went to the peephole.

She couldn't believe it….


	9. Acquisition

Why is he here? What does he want? Lindsay thought as she unlatched the chain on the door. She unbolted the dead locks and opened the door to let him.

There stood a worried Danny Messer.

"I hope you didn't mind that I stopped by I have been worried about you, Linds."

She was beginning to get in a panic. Danny only called her Linds when he was worried about her. Ty can't find out that Danny stopped by to talk to her. He'll beat her and Danny and she can't let that happen to Danny.

"What's up?" Lindsay said, confused.

"I know that this is really none of my business and I know that I am only your partner at the lab, but is Ty hurting you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw the burn on your hand. I have seen bruises in places that are suspicious. I have seen you leave early from work and making excuses to go home. And the most important that I have seen is that I have seen you cry. Nobody should make you cry." Danny said.

"Danny, he has never laid a hand on me. I tell you what happened to me. I spilled coffee one morning and burned my hand. I got the bruises from bumping into my kitchen island during the night and the reason that I raced home was that I didn't feel good. Nothing has happened to me."

He moved in closer to her and touched her cheek. On instinct, she flinched and when she felt that he wasn't a threat, she leaned into his touch.

He lifted her face and look at her. He knew she wasn't telling the truth but it didn't matter. He loved her.

"I really want to believe you here, Linds. I really do. But if I find out that he has put his hand on you, he'll be sorry. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah." Lindsay said. He released his hand and headed towards the door. She followed him and when he left she quickly shut the door.

The flood of sobs were released from her eyes and she slid herself down the front door. Her heart was breaking. How can you tell someone that you love that you are being abused? How?

* * *

Danny left her apartment and went out to his truck. Once inside, he let out a long sigh and looked up at the window to Lindsay's apartment. He cranked up the truck and started off.

What he didn't know was that a black SUV was following his every move.


	10. Followed

Danny was halfway to his apartment when had a strange premonition that he was being followed. He looked in this rearview mirror and the only car that he saw was a black SUV. He tried to see the face of the other driver but the glare of his tail lights and the SUV's head lights were obstructing his view.

He chalked the situation up to a man who was going home and so he didn't think anything else about the SUV.

About 5 minutes later, Danny noticed that another vehicle was racing towards him at a speed that was unsafe for the street that he was on. The other vehicle spun around and blocked Danny in.

Danny always feared for these situations. He was always taught as a cop to try to find a way out of this. A smart and effective way. He reached for his gun in his console but he was rammed from behind. His body jerked forward and his air bag released. 

Stunned, he grabbed his gun but his door was pried open. He never got to see his attackers as he was grabbed from behind. Danny's gun was dropped and fell under his vehicle.

The last thing he saw was his attackers face before he was beaten unconscious.


	11. Heaven vs Hell

Pounding echoed through his ears but he couldn't recognize them. He tried to open his eyes but he couldn't. He tried to sit up but he physically couldn't. 

All he could hear were the sounds of sirens, screams and police radios. But he couldn't scream out. Pain was coursing through his body, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. He fought a wave of nauseousness as he felt a prick on his hand. 

He couldn't remember why he was hurt or why he was found on the street. He overheard that he was being taken to Trinity but he couldn't fight it. Helpless and lost, he laid on the stretcher while they worked on him.

The ride to the ambulance was a short ride but it felt like an eternity to Danny. He couldn't tell if it was a ride to Heaven or his ticket to Hell.

He knew who this fight was about and how much it involved. But one thing was clear: this battle for her was worth it.


End file.
